Balzan’s hopes of reaching the second qualifying round of the Europa League are at best remote after a 2-0 home defeat to FK Zeljeznicar last week but coach Oliver Spiteri is targeting an improved per-formance in today’s second leg at the Asim Ferhatovic Stadium (kick-off 9.15pm).
“We know that it’s going to be another difficult test for us,” Spiteri told Times of Malta from Sarajevo.
“We were aware that FK Zeljeznicar had a strong squad before last week’s home match but we haven’t come all this way just to honour the fixture.
“Our aim is to produce a better match than we did in the first leg last week and, perhaps, try to score our first goal in a Euro-pean competition.”
Balzan are making their debut in Europe after securing a top-four finish in the Premier League last season.
Last week, Balzan suffered an early double blow after Rijad Bajic fired the Bosnians into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 13 minutes but the Reds acquitted themselves better in the second half.
“Our chances had already been com-promised by the absence of a few regular players for the first leg,” Spiteri said.
“The way we conceded the two goals was another setback. Zeljeznicar shocked us when they opened the scoring early from a penalty that was harsh on us.
“Our second half was a lot better and it has raised the players’ confidence that we can give a good account of ourselves in Bosnia.”
Bojan Kaljevic has travelled to Sarajevo but Spiteri is unlikely to risk the Montenegro striker who is in the final stages of his re-covery from an ankle problem.
Fenech’s influence
On the plus side, Ryan Fenech is in line to make his debut for Balzan after the former Valletta captain missed last week’s home match due to suspension.
“Ryan has fitted well into our system,” the Balzan coach said of the club’s high-profile signing this summer.
“We haven’t done a lot of tactical work but Ryan has loads of experience. He has settled in quickly and the other players have made him feel at home straightaway.
“I believe that his availability for this match is a tonic for the team.”
Fenech’s ability to hold the ball and pick the right pass should come in handy tonight as Balzan found it hard to create attacking moves in the home leg.
Although FK Zeljeznicar are widely ex-pected to dominate possession, Spiteri believes that his team can cause their opponents a few problems if they improve transition from defence to attack.
“We have to do better in attack but our transition play has to improve,” Spiteri said.
“We will have to venture forward and, with the players we have, I believe we can be more dangerous up front than we were at home last Thursday.”
Referee: Vasilis Dimitriou (Cyprus FA).